Of Life and Death
by Mriya
Summary: Was going to discontinue, but I went through all the old reviews...I'll post another chapter soon.
1. Chapter 1

Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider or any of the characters. I'm too lazy to make smart ass comments at this point.

This is my first Alex Rider fanfic, so please don't kill me. I don't wanna die!!!!...sorry. Well, I'll get right to the point. I don't know how schools work in England. Hell, I don't know how _anything_ works in England. So since I live here in the USA, the school system's gonna be how my school system is. Naturally, I'm just having fun, so no flaming please! Seriously. I have _really_ low self-esteem and confidence. Mainly it comes from looking half my age, but that's not the point. Friendly criticism is always welcome. Put an emphasis on the word 'friendly.' Okay, I'll shut up so you can get to the story.

Oh, and this is more of an alternate universe story because instead of there being a threat with Nikolei Drevin, Alex has other problems to deal with. Don't worry. Scorpia's still involved. And Yassen didn't die. Why? He's awesome! Let's just leave it at that. Also, sorry, but I had to tweak the time line of when Alex got shot for this story to work.

PS: You will learn that I like bringing people back from the dead. ;)

Du-te cu un text (Just go with the story)

Se bucura! (enjoy!)

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Alex sighed as he slid underneath the covers on the bed. Being in a hospital, no matter how luxurious, took a lot out of you. Especially when guards are stationed outside your door for the first few days. Thankfully, Alex could finally put all that behind him. He was done with MI6. When Mrs. Jones talked to him, she'd said he didn't have to worry about world affairs anymore. And for some reason, this time it actually sounded as though she meant it. No more blackmail. Jack loved that idea. She didn't want to worry about Alex going on life-threatening missions just to keep her in the country with him.

Alex felt himself drifting off and out of instinct, fought the signs of sleep. After all the missions he'd been on, sleep seemed like a foreign idea. One of myth. He glanced at the clock and smiled. It wasn't even nine o'clock yet. He didn't care. After listening to the sounds of the nightlife coming from beyond his window, Alex finally slipped into a dreamless sleep.

~:~

"Alex!"

Alex groaned and held the pillow over his head as Jack called his name from downstairs. The sudden movement caused him to gasp as an excruciating pain spread through his chest and left arm. Being kidnapped had not been to merciful on his wounds. Alex couldn't help remembering the incident.

Armed men had come into the hospital and shot and killed the receptionist. They'd come for Paul Drevin, but got Alex Rider instead. 'Kaspar', as the man had called himself, had sent his goons after Alex, thinking he was Paul. After capturing him, much to the pain of said goons, they'd nearly cut of one of his fingers as warning to Paul's father, Nikolei. After Alex escaped, much to _his_ discomfort, the American's CIA had uncovered who had really been behind it all. Nikolei Drevin himself. His space hotel project, Arc Angel, began to cost him too much, so he decided to crash it into Washington DC. But the CIA had caught him just in time. The man was obviously a psychopath and ended up getting the life sentence. Paul was sent to live with his mother, which made him very happy. That was the only good that came out of it. Unfortunately for Alex, his reward for escaping and leading them to Kaspar's hideout, was much more grand. In just one month, he was scheduled to meet the Queen.

Thus more unwanted attention.

"Alex!" Jack called for what Alex guessed was the last time.

He stumbled, and nearly fell, out of bed and rushed to get dressed. Again, the sudden movements caused him a lot of pain, but he did his best to ignore it. If he couldn't manage getting dressed, he'd never be able to get through his first day of his second year of high school. Everyone already thought he was a drug addict, except the girls, who still studied his every breath. Why? He didn't even want to know.

After he managed to make his uniform cooperate with him, Alex went downstairs to a fuming, but concerned Jack. Her hands were placed on her hips and her eyebrows raised in a look that said, 'This is possibly the dumbest thing you could possibly do.' Alex only gave her a weak smile before carefully walking into the kitchen, her gaze following his every move.

He sat down at the table and noticed his breakfast was placed in front of him. The first thought that came to mind was, 'This could _not _have been made in ten minutes.' In front of him was scrambled eggs, toast, pancakes, cereal, orange juice, milk, and an omelet. He looked up at Jack, who'd come in only a moment ago, looking very confused.

"What..." Alex started, but was interrupted by a very dangerous looking Jack. He was wondering if her maternal instincts were kicking in, even though she wasn't Alex's mother.

"You _will_ eat all of it!" She told him. He didn't doubt the consequences that were hidden underneath the said words.

"How?" he squeaked. He hadn't meant to sound so pathetic, but there was no way he'd be able to eat all of the food.

Jack sighed, her hands going back to her hips. "You've been on plasma for nearly two weeks. You need real food, real protein in you."

"But why so much?! And besides, I was told to stay _away _from greasy food. And I'm sure this stuff qualifies!"

She shrugged. "Figured you'd be hungry for a real breakfast."

Alex glared at her. That couldn't be it. She didn't cook a huge breakfast just so he could get the nutrients he needed. He could get that with the well proportioned meals he was used to.

Alex continued to look up at her, looking more like a kid than he had since Ian died. She gave in. "Fine. I'll eat some of it too." She didn't seem to happy about it, but Alex was satisfied. They ate their abnormally large meal in silence until it was time for him to go to school. His first day of his tenth year. Fun.

He stood up from his seat at the table and walked toward the door. Finally; he could ride his bike to school and be a normal part of the system just like everyone else.

"What are you doing?" Jack said, somehow managing to pop up right behind him. When did she become a ninja?

"Uh..." Alex thought. The fact that Jack had been so sneaky and quiet was enough to raise suspicion. It was the tone of her voice that really had him scared. "Getting my bike..." he finally finished.

She chuckled at the normal statement and said, "Oh, no you're not! I'm driving you, and picking you up."

Alex groaned inwardly. She really was babying him. The wound didn't even hurt that bad anymore. He tried to make a break for it, but Jack already had the collar of his jacket clutched in her hand. Looking up at his over-protective guardian, he almost looked like he was pouting. But Alex Rider didn't pout. None of the Riders did. But Jack wouldn't forget. Oh, she'd never let him live this down.

Alex didn't get a chance to argue because not a moment later, Jack was dragging him towards her car by his jacket. She forced him, gently, into the front seat and quickly went around to the other side and started the engine. Finally giving in, he put on the seat belt and patiently waited for his guardian to start the car. He glanced in her direction and noticed a particularly smug look on her face as she smiled at him. Alex only glared back.

The drive wasn't unpleasant. She was listening to some American band called Thousand Foot Krutch. The music was good, and gratefully, there was no conversation. Well, at least not until they got to the school. Jack parked at the curb and Alex moved as fast as he could to get out, hurting himself trying to get the damn seatbelt off. At this, Jack made the most unnecessary suggestion.

"I think you should just come back home with me..."

Alex gave her his please-don't-start-this-again look that he'd just recently perfected. It had the perfect amount of contempt, sarcasm, aggravation, and pitifulness. Jack could never say no to this look. And Alex took great pride at this.

"It was just a suggestion..." Jack muttered. Alex smiled at her and stepped out of the car. He closed the door and saw her point a finger at him before she drove off. This was her way of saying, 'Don't make me regret this.' He just chuckled and walked through the front gates of the school.

Many of the students, even the ninth years, gave him nervous glances. He also noticed, much to his horror, the girls of every year gushing over him. What they were gushing over? He didn't want to know. All Alex wanted to do was track down his friend Tom Harris. Out of all the people he knew in the non-spy world, Tom was the only person who knew his secret. The one thing Tom didn't know about was his bullet wound. And hopefully, for now, he'd be able to keep it that way.

"Alex! Over here!" he heard Tom call. He looked around to look for the source of the call and found Tom standing alone by a tree near the front entrance. Alex smiled. Tom was the only person he wanted to see at this hell hole. He walked over to his best friend only to be greeted by more stares than before. Apparently, Tom calling his name caught the attention of the entire student body.

"Hey," Alex said.

"Hey? Hey? Is that all you have to say? What _really_ happened to you? Why were you _really _in the hospital?" Tom poured out, leaving no question left in his mind. This took Alex completely by surprise.

"Later," Alex muttered to his friend, carefully analyzing the looks they were getting. Tom got the hint and immediately shut up, giving Alex an apologetic smile.

"The druggie returns!" he heard one of the twelfth years exclaim when he caught sight of Alex. His name was Sean Ernest. If there was anyone Alex hated outside of MI6, it was Sean. The older boy always made it his mission for the year to make Alex's life a living hell. Aparently he was sticking with the 'druggie' rumor. The idiot wasn't very creative.

"Stuff it," Alex glared at Sean. The moron just didn't know when to quit.

"What did you just say?" Sean glared at Alex. Like Alex, Sean was a 2 dan in karate, so a fight with him wouldn't be pleasant. But if he must...

"Mr. Ernest!" The three of them – Alex, Sean, and Tom – turned around to see the school secretary, Jane Bedfordshire walking towards them with murderous intent. "What do you think you're doing?"

Alex could feel all the eyes on him. It was embarrassing to have someone on the school staff coming to your rescue. Thankfully, everyone loved Ms. Bedfordshire. And the fact that Ms. Bedfordshire absolutely hated Sean Ernest. It was probably because he acted like the perfect student: Good grades, athletic, polite, good posture, quiet, involved. This is what most people saw in Alex: Slipping grades, constantly falling asleep in class, nearly always slouching, always staring out the window.

"Good morning, Ms. Bedfordshire," Sean said sweeter than any boy should ever sound. It was just disgusting.

She glared down at the twelfth year. "What do you think you are doing?" Sean dropped the facade. Jane Bedfordshire wasn't stupid, which meant his act was over.

"Teaching Rider his place."

"Oh? And where would his 'place' be?"

"Somewhere off with his druggie friends." Oops. Wrong thing to say.

Ms. Bedfordshire grabbed his arm and dragged him through the front doors of Brookland School and snapped, "I think you need to have a talk with the headmaster." Sean protested, but couldn't escape from her grip. After they disappeared through the double doors, all the students who were outside burst out in a fit of laughter. They might have found it funny, but Alex had a strange feeling that this year was going to be difficult.

Tom looked at his stoic friend and managed to say through his laughter, "Loosen up, Alex! Mr. Perfect just got busted." Alex managed a genuine smile for his excited friend.

Just before Tom could say anything else, the first bell rang, signaling the students to go to the auditorium for their 'beginning of the year assembly.' Alex looked at the large room with obvious resentment. There really was no point for anyone but the ninth years and new students to attend this stupid meeting. Everybody else had heard it all before. They'd all sleep and get yelled at for not paying attention and life would go on. But for some reason, part of Alex looked forward to listening to the boring speech. It would be the first normal thing he'd do since he was shot and started ignoring MI6. Instead of contemplating on it further, he walked in with Tom, who was still complaining about how boring it would be for Alex, since he was so used to saving the world. Alex wished his little friend would just get it through his head that it wasn't as glorious as the movies made it out to be. When Alex saw who was on stage, he realized saving the world would be _much_ easier to deal with.

Mrs. Jones, Alan Blunt, the sergeant from the SAS training camp at Brecon Beacons, and the. K Unit. All the people who made his life a living hell. Mrs. Jones and Mr. Blunt dragged him into MI6, Alex sent the sergeant into the river, and the K-unit didn't accept him. At least at first. After he sent the sergeant into the river, they finally started to like him. Right as Alex was leaving, Wolf gave him his SAS pin. Alex currently had that same badge on the collar of his uniform jacket. But that was beside the point. Why were they here? Alex looked around the auditorium and noticed other agents; the same ones he'd seen at Ian's funeral. Only this time the guns were drawn and ready. He also noticed that the only seats that were available were in the center of the third row.

He and Tom sat in their seats, both having a perfect view of everyone's faces on stage. They were all so relaxed, even the K Unit. Well, at least for the moment.

Because then he heard, and saw, the sergeant scream, "K UNIT! ATTENTION!"

They all snapped into attention, not out of obedience, but by habit. Alex even nearly jumped into attention like Snake, Eagle, Fox, and Wolf did. Thankfully, he caught his mistake just in time, and in turn, the movement only looked like a spasm. Hopefully one that hadn't been noticed. The movement caused a flame of pain to rise in his chest and arm and he did all he could to not scream in agony. Why the hell did gunshot wounds have to be so bloody painful?!

The headmaster walked up to the microphone and said, "Welcome to a new year here at Brookland School." When no one said anything in return, he continued. "I am Jeffrey Bray, the school's headmaster. I am very honored to announce that this will be a very special year for fifty of the boys at our wonderful school. You girls will have something similar later in the year and at a different location. But for now, this assembly is addressed to the young men."

Alex cocked his head to the side in confusion. Fifty? What were they planning? He didn't like the sound of it already. And if Jones and Blunt were involved, it definitely meant trouble for Alex.

"Sergeant Karlson has agreed to host a little project down at the Brecon Beacons training camp. Sergeant?" Mr. Bray gestured toward the microphone he had just begun to step away from.

Sergeant Karlson stood in front of the microphone and began, "Mr. Bray has suggested a training project to get this school's boys into better shape. Naturally, the fifty students of the male student body will be chosen. MI6 has graciously recommended one student for the training program, and has no choice in the matter. Actually, none of you have any choice."

Alex didn't like what he was hearing.

The sergeant stole a quick breath and continued. "Every one of you boys will be given a physical today in the gym. If we're not done by the time school ends, tough! You're staying anyways. And because we thought it'd be _fair _that you know what to expect, these are the exams you have to pass. One: endurance . You will run around the track for as long as you can, then do as many push-ups as you can, finished by doing as many pull-ups as you can. Two: strength. Bench pressing. That simple. Three: A normal physical test. You will be checked for any abnormalities in your cardiovascular and respiratory systems."

Crap. Crap. Crap. Crap! How was he going to get by on that one? Normally, he'd go along and assume that since he had already been chosen to go, but the sergeant had said _everyone_ had to go through the physical, and that included him.

"The unit that will be testing you will the the K Unit, the four men standing behind me now. You will only know them by their code names. They are Wolf, Snake, Eagle, and Fox," Sergeant Karlson pointed to them as he mentioned them. Wolf is in charge of the unit and will be overseeing all of the tests. Snake is the unit's medic and will handle the physical exam. Eagle will handle the strength test, and Fox will be in charge of the endurance test. You will take your tests in alphabetical order. DISMISSED!" he finished and walked over to stand at attention with the K Unit, leaving very startled and intimidated students in his wake.

Alex, who'd been hunched over the whole time in a poor attempt at hiding who he was, sat up straight and watched as the headmaster walked to the microphone again. Well, at least he was towards the end of the list.

"Well," Mr. Bray sighed. He was obviously about to dismiss the students. "We've said all that needs to be said and it's time for most of you to go to your classes. Now. All of the young men with names starting with A to K, go straight to the locker rooms and change into your gym uniforms. The tests will be individual, so this may take a while." With that he nodded at the students, which was his cue for them to leave.

Alex stood up and turned to leave, but not before shooting a glare at Mr. Blunt. He was sure that Mrs. Jones had argued for Alex's sake, so he was okay with her. But the head of MI6 was going to pay. Now he just had to figure out how. Just as he was turning back to Tom, Alex saw Mrs. Jones give him a sad smile. He quickly returned it before turning back to his friend and walking towards their first class. Another plus side to the day, he had all of his classes with Tom, so he wouldn't be bored.

He just hoped he wouldn't die trying to hide his wound from the K Unit.

* * *

A/N: So? What'd ya think? Like I said at the first note at the beginning – you know? The really long one? - that things would be tweaked a bit and you'd just have to go with the story (by the way, the words at the beginning that I translated for you, are in Romanian). And I can assure you guys this is probably the shortest chapter this story will have. And this took me three damn days. Yes, I know there are so many Alex Rider stories like this, but this story has been in my head and won't let me sleep! Reviews are always welcome...that and I want to know if you like it. Don't flame me for any mistakes I made please! 8( yeah, that's supposed to be the pleading look, but it just looks creepy. Well, good night!

Some of you may have noticed this updated. I'm sorry, but while I'm working on chapter five, I'm doing revisions on the other chapters. Trust me. They are needed.

Yes, I know the part with Jack and Alex was random and ridiculous (and kind of stupid), but now you see why it's in the funny section (not really).


	2. Chapter 2

Disclaimer: I don't own any part of Alex Rider. Only the characters you do not know and I made up. Yeah, that's kind of obvious...

I got great reviews from the first chapter. I may not upload for a while. We're in the middle of moving, so the internet is gonna be shut off. Which really sucks for me, since I'm always on the internet. Really; it's an off day when my computer gets a break within six hours. And thank you to TheNotedMusician for reminding me of the headmaster's name. It's been a really long time since I read that book (I read about five books at a time), so I kinda had the idea it was Mr. Gray...But it was so late and I was so out of it, I decided to make one up. Well it's going back to Mr. Bray like it should be! (I corrected it in the last chapter. It was buggin' me!!)

* * *

Alex almost dreaded going to his first class. History wasn't very interesting and it took a lot of concentration just to stay awake. Attention Alex didn't have. Tom wouldn't even be there. He'd had the please-get-me-out-of-this look when the assembly ended. Alex had the please-kill-me-now look. He wondered how many people thought he'd go on a killing spree.

He walked into the classroom and noticed, much to his embarrassment, that everybody else was already in their seats. Alex stayed as still as possible. Naturally, with all he'd been through, it was a habit. Usually when he felt this uncomfortable, someone was either keeping a close eye on him or getting ready to shoot him. At the idea, he felt a soft stab of pain in his chest. There were also no more seats available.

"You should have gotten here sooner," An elderly woman tutted. Mrs. Kurklen was said to be one of the strictest teachers in the school. She seemed like a nice lady, but she could also be a good actor. Alex narrowed his eyes, trying to chase the thought from his mind. This wasn't a mission. No one was trying to kill him. '_Analyzing people is _not_ a good idea right now!' _Alex thought to himself. While he stood at the front of the room, the other students began to mutter quietly amongst themselves.

"Shut up!" Mrs. Kurklen screeched, practically scaring the life out of Alex, as he jumped and bumped against the wall softly. He hadn't been expecting that at all. Well, it was better for him. Now he looked more like a normal teenager. If he hadn't done something, he'd look even more suspicious. Mrs. Kurklen heard the small thump and looked over at him.

"Oh, dear! I'm sorry, did I frighten you?" Alex shyly shook his head and straightened up by himself, though the elderly teacher seemed to want to help anyway. Alex tried not to tense up when she went to help him. Now he knew why everyone was afraid of her. She seemed to have this creepy feeling radiating from her.

After Mrs. Kurklen was finished with him, she looked at him and apologized again, "Sorry. They booked my class up! And there are ten kids at that physical, too..."

Wow. She really was booked. Hey, maybe he would get lucky and be transferred to another class. That was always an idea. But then again, good things didn't happen to Alex...That could now be proven. Just as Mrs. Kurklen finished her sentence, Ms. Bedfordshire walked into the room, holding a piece of paper. She walked to the elderly woman and handed her the paper. On her way out, she spared a grin for Alex just before disappearing back into the hallway.

He looked over to see a very relieved teacher staring at the piece of paper Ms. Bedfordshire had handed her.

"I've got good news!" she cried. "These twelve students have been reassigned to other classes: Palson, Kreegor, Sorenson, LaMarc, Jondo, Lennard, Briston, Murk, Drandy, Fierk, Rosh, and Nortin. You've all been rescheduled to go to Mr. Seers." The students took that as a dismissal and stood up and left, nodding to Alex as they passed. Now, out of a class of thirty, only eighteen remained. towards the back. Alex took the one by the window. It just seemed natural to him to do so. It was relaxing.

"Well," Mrs. Kurklen started, "Now that _most _us are here, I'll talk about this year's lesson plans." Alex noticed the rest of the class getting out pieces of paper and pens, but she just waved them off.

"Oh, you won't be needing those," she stated, referring to the pens and papers. "I'll be giving you all hand-outs tomorrow. For now, we're just going to verbally discuss them."

That made Alex very happy. He didn't mind school – he definitely preferred it to MI6! - but paying attention just wasn't one of his strong points. Well, not in school anyway. While Mrs. Kurklen went on about the school year, Alex tuned her out and occasionally glanced out the window. So for the rest of the hour, Alex could have been in another universe and he wouldn't have noticed. He didn't even notice when the teacher stopped talking until someone jabbed him discreetly in the side with a pencil. Alex sat up and looked at the clock. Wow. Only two minutes until class ended.

Then the door opened and a woman with carefully fixed dark hair entered the room. She wore a dark woman's suit and walked in a manner that said this was simply business. Alex knew her all too well. After Alan Blunt, she was the next person in charge of MI6: Mrs. Jones. Oh, this would be interesting.

"Tulip!" Mrs. Kurklen said, obviously surprised to see Mrs. Jones. A few kids snickered at the name, but Alex had already heard it before. This just might make his day...

Mrs. Jones visibly stiffened at the mention of her first name. "Good morning, Mrs. Kurklen." she greeted. _Very business-like, _Alex thought. Even though he looked bored, he was thoroughly enjoying himself. It wasn't every day one got to see someone from MI6 embarrassed by a little, old lady.

"What's wrong with you?" Mrs. Kurklen gasped. "What happened to the fun loving little girl?" _This_ was the one thing Alex would _never _let Mrs. Jones forget! Not that he planned to see her again.

"Mrs. Kurklen, I just need to give this to..." Mrs. Jones was cut off when Mrs. Kurklen started talking again.

"Maybe you still think you're going to get a detention!" she laughed.

"Mrs. Kurklen..."

"I still remember the slime bomb you used on Mr. Lersek!"

"Could you just give this to Alex Rider, please?" Mrs. Jones asked as fast as she could. She had a very noticeable blush spreading across her face. Alex was happy he convinced Jack to let him come today. Most people would kill to see this. Alex...well, killing just wasn't on his to-do list.

"Oh! Sure, sure. You must get back to the bank, am I right?" Mrs. Kurklen took the envelope from Mrs. Jones. Wait. Didn't Mrs. Kurklen know that Mrs. Jones worked for MI6? Didn't she go to the assembly? What was going on here? Just then, Mrs. Kurklen just happened to spot a ring on Mrs. Jones finger and gasped.

"Tulip! When did you get married?"

"Good day, Mrs. Kurklen!" Mrs. Jones hurried out of the room. Alex couldn't help but laugh with the rest of the class this time.

Not a moment after Mrs. Jones left, the bell rang. Everybody stood up and gathered their things and made their way to the door as fast as possible. Alex, again, wasn't so lucky. He still had to get that envelope from Mrs. Kurklen. Well, he'd just have to grab it and run. According to his schedule, his next class was all the way on the other side of the school. And it was a big school.

He walked over to his teacher, his bag slung over his right shoulder. It felt uncomfortable there – he was used to it being on his left shoulder, but he couldn't do that, now could he? - and waited until she was done writing.

She looked up at him and said, "Ah...I'm guessing your here for the envelope." When Alex nodded, she continued. "Now. Why would a young man such as yourself have anything to do with St. Dominics?"

Alex didn't let the surprise show on his face. So that's what it was about? "I got sick a couple weeks ago." Well, it wasn't a total lie.

"Sick? What was it?"

Alex nearly grimaced. Mrs. Kurklen was persistent. Good thing he'd been interrogated so many times. " I had appendicitis."

"Appendicitis? Oh, dear. The surgery must have been awful!" she said. She sounded sincere, but he noticed a flicker of something in her eyes. Something that made them go from looking carefree and kind, to serious and dangerous.

Alex looked from the envelope in her hand to her face, which had reverted back to the kind face he'd seen for the entire last hour.

"Oh! I'm guessing you want this so that you can get to class. So I'll just write an excuse for you..." she trailed off as she took out a piece of blue paper and scribbled on it. She handed it to Alex, along with the envelope from St. Dominics. He nodded his good bye and left the classroom.

He started running – walking very fast when they saw a teacher or hall monitor – and made it to his next class with time to spare. Amazingly, he was the only one there. Weird...

Maths was taught by Mr. Andrews. He was a man of about thirty something years and just moved to the area. He was new this year, so there weren't any rumors to depend on with him. His brown hair was messy and stuck out in every direction possible. And unlike the other teachers, he was dressed in jeans and a black t-shirt. That was odd. Wasn't there a strict dress code for the teachers? Then a realization struck Alex. _Why the hell does he look like Eagle?!_

Again, the window seat was open, so Alex took that one. Not everyone was there, so he didn't think there would be a problem. That, and he was starting to get tired. If he fell over, that _just might _look a bit suspicious. As far as they all knew, he'd been in the hospital for appendicitis, not a bullet in his chest and a collapsed lung.

"Well," Mr. Andrews started. His voice seemed to have a bit of a nervous waver to it. "It looks like you're the class for the day, Mr...." he started looking through the papers that Alex guessed was the roster.

"Rider," Alex said, he was starting to feel a bit sorry for the man.

"Right." he smiled apologetically. "Your the only one in the class that has a name that's after A-K." Alex smirked.

"Hey, you look a lot like...um...that K Unit guy...uh...Eagle!" Alex acted as though he'd never met Eagle and couldn't remember who he was for a moment. It worked.

Mr. Andrews smiled. "Unfortunately. He's my younger brother."

Alex just looked at him. Eagle had a brother? Well, that was news to him. Eagle seemed like more of an only child when he met him. Distant and cold, but somehow something else. It seemed like he was trying to hold in a lot of energy, like he was constantly hyper. That was a scary thought. No SAS man should be hyper. Especially if they are near guns...Alex's face went pale at the thought. He did _not _want to think of Eagle having a gun...

"Fortunately, I don't see any reason to go over the whole year with one person in the class, so just do whatever," Mr. Andrews said slouching into the chair at his desk at the front of the room.

The door burst open revealing a very tall man in a black and red cape and SAS uniform. Alex just stared. He had guessed right. Eagle was insane; _very _insane. He walked over to his brother and towered over him, being the taller of the two.

"Do you need some help, brother?" Eagle asked him, using the accent most people recognized from Dracula. Mr. Andrews just covered his face with his hand and shook his head. Alex just placed his head on his arms, which were placed on the desk, and tried to sleep.

Eagle covered the cape over his mouth before flinging it over his shoulder and sneaked over to Alex's desk. "VAT DO YOU THINK _YOU'RE_ DOING?!" he shouted in Alex's ear, using the same accent.

Alex jerked up and pushed him away before laying his head back down to sleep. He may have looked annoyed, but he was secretly biting back a fit of laughter that was threatening to burst out.

"Michael, what are you doing?" Mr. Andrews asked Eagle. Alex raised an eyebrow, his head still hidden in his arms. Michael Anderson. So that was his name. Oh, well. He was gonna stay Eagle. Michael Andrews sounded too normal after what he'd just seen.

"Well..." he drew out the word for as long as possible. "We've got a twenty minute break for every ten kids."

"You've already gone through ten kids?" Mr. Andrews asked. He sounded surprised. "What do you know about this?" he asked, directing the question at Alex.

"The students must have been lazy...or tired..." Alex said, his voice nearly inaudible through his arms.

The door opened again and Alex reluctantly raised his head to see who it was. Naturally, two more parts of his nightmare from Brecon Beacons: Snake and Fox. And oddly enough, they were carrying open bags full of, what he could tell, toys. Fox also had a paint ball gun slung over his shoulder by a strap. And they looked very annoyed.

"Uh...Can I help you?" Mr. Andrews asked them. They looked, even though Alex knew they were harmless. Sensing that there was nothing to really worry about, Alex returned his head to its place resting on his arms. Once again, he tried to fall asleep. Fat chance!

"Him!" Fox snapped, pointing at Eagle. Eagle, being the one pursued, just stood there with wide eyes, trying to look innocent. Alex looked up at this and immediately regretted it. He looked so ridiculous. He was amazed that Wolf hadn't killed him yet.

Mr. Andrews groaned, "What did he do?"

"He's been running around the school terrorizing the teachers and school staff. When the sergeant told us we were getting these breaks, he meant for us to relax!" Snake growled.

"What's in the bags?" Alex's teacher asked them.

Fox and Snake looked down at the bags that had obviously been weighing them down for who knows how long. "These are his _props."_ Fox spat the word.

"How did you get all this crap in here anyway?" Snake asked him, genuinely curious.

Eagle got this evil and mischievous grin and said, "If I told you, I'd have to kill you."

"Not if we kill you first!" Fox threatened. Alex actually bothered looking up, but regretted doing so. Just before they saw his face, he ducked his head again.

"Hey! I'd recognize that bratty glare anyvhere! Cub, is that you?" Eagle screeched, still using that accent.

"Cub? That kid the government placed in your unit?" Mr. Andrews asked. Apparently, Eagle didn't shut his big mouth to anyone.

"Eagle, come on! What are the chances?" Snake sighed.

Eagle looked down at Alex's bag and saw the envelope sticking out, displaying the very obvious symbol of St. Dominics. "What's this?"

"I had appendicitis," Alex told him, his head still ducked down low.

Eagle laughed. "So they sent you to the hospital of the rich and military?" Alex was tempted to glare up at him, but his glare seemed to be legendary around the SAS. So instead he merely shrugged.

"Look up," Snake commanded. Alex's eyes widened in surprise. He'd never heard Snake sound like that. Sure he'd heard him yell and snap, but this tone belonged to Wolf; he always used it to say obey-or-die.

Seeing that if he didn't do it willingly, they'd use force – that's the way he always thought SAS handled things – Alex reluctantly raised his head. There were startled glances directed at him, excluding Mr. Andrews, who was totally confused.

"Why were you in the hospital?" Snake asked him, his tone softening down to its normal level.

"Appendicitis."

Fox looked at him suspiciously, "Why'd they send you to St. Dominics for _appendicitis?_" He didn't sound as though he believed the story.

Alex shrugged.

"Well, why wasn't I told?" Snake growled. "I mean, I'm the _medic!_"

Alex decided to use his only leverage to get out of the conversation. "Wolf knew." That didn't help things at all. It just made Fox, Snake, and Eagle mad. Very mad.

"Why does a kid need SAS training in the first place?!" Mr. Andrews said over the muttered threats Fox, Snake, and Eagle were thinking up.

"We don't know," Eagle answered his older brother's question. "They told us it was classified."

"What are you doing?" a voice snapped from the door. "Our break ends in five minutes!" They all turned around to see a very ticked off Wolf.

"Yo, kid! Are you okay? You're a bit pale..." Snake asked him. Alex nodded and rested his head again. "And _you_!" he shot at Wolf.

"What?" Wolf glared.

Eagle took control. "What do you mean _what? _Why didn't you tell us Cub got hurt?" he shouted the last three words at the unit leader.

"He had appendicitis? Nothing serious," he waved it off, then began to wonder. "Wait. How did you guys find out?"

"Raise your head, kid." Snake told Alex. Alex was beginning to feel a little light-headed, but did as he was told. For once, Alex thought he saw Wolf show another emotion other than anger: concern (though he stilled looked thoroughly pissed off). That was enough to terrify Alex.

"Didn't you just get out of the hospital yesterday or the day before?" he asked. Alex was shocked. He actually looked into when he got out?

Alex nodded, and was shot into a dizzy spell. A bad one. Just as his head was about to hit the desk in front of him, a very large hand came out of nowhere and steadied it. "Whoa! Watch it!" It was Eagle. Alex was suddenly very thankful that even Eagle payed close attention to everything.

"What's in that envelope?" Snake asked him going over to kneel by the kid's desk. Alex shrugged slightly and groaned as he began to feel nauseous.

Snake opened the envelope and spilled its contents into his hand. It was a bottle of pills and a small note with an unreadable signature at the bottom. "_Alex, If you get dizzy, tired, or nauseous, take 2 of these pills. PS: You forgot to grab them off the side table when you left."_ Snake read off. They read the signature at the bottom and confirmed with Alex that it was from his doctor.

"Give him a couple," Wolf told him. Snake nodded and took out two of the pills and a bottle of water. Alex took them both at once, not caring if he choked on them. He didn't like taking medicine. It always made him feel weird after he took it.

"I don't think you should go through the tests today. This might happen again." Snake suggested. Alex was tempted, but it also made him feel like he was weak. He'd decided before that he'd struggle through them. He'd just run like hell once they got to the last exam.

"Don't worry about that," Alex told them. He was already starting to feel better. "You guys need to get back to the gym."

"Shit!" Wolf shouted and the four of them ran out, but not before Snake put the medicine into Alex's bag and making sure he wasn't going to pass out. The class period stayed quiet after that. Mr. Andrews only said a word when he wanted to make sure Alex wasn't going to get sick again. He seemed almost frightened of the kid in front of him. What kind of kid needed SAS training?

The bell rang and Alex stood up, not bothering to even look at Mr. Andrews. He wondered if Eagle had told him the part where they'd made Alex's days at Brecon Beacons a living hell.

Considering how lazy most of the people in the school were, Alex guessed that K Unit was probably a quarter of the way through the 'tests'. It was sad, really. Brookland School had the best soccer team (according to the fact that they won nearly every game) and they were still pathetic. Alex estimated that since it was only his third class of the day, he'd be going for those 'tests' in about an hour and a half or two hours. That gave him enough time to get some more sleep.

Next, was Chemistry. Joy. This wasn't Alex's best subject, since he couldn't tune the teacher out unless he wanted to fail. Last year, he'd just barely passed. Mr. Bray reminded him of when the Sergeant of the SAS training camp said, "I want to bin you" a million or so times.

Again, Alex had to run to make it to his next class on time, but he didn't really care. People were still spreading rumors about him being a drug addict anyway. Luckily, Alex wasn't the first or the last person to enter the classroom.

At the front of the classroom, a stern looking man, probably in his mid-forties, stood with his hands clasped together behind his back. His name was Mr. Lersek. He was supposed to be one of the strictest teachers in the school, not unlike Mrs. Kurklen. Only he had no problems with showing his true colors. When Alex immediately went towards the window seat, Mr. Lersek stopped him.

"In this class, there's a seating arrangement. Look at the sheet on the board," he growled beckoning towards the board behind him. Alex decided that this was not going to be a fun class. Thankfully, for the third time that day, his hell was interrupted. This time by the Sergeant.

"All Students, names starting with 'I' through 'Z', go to the locker rooms!" he half yelled. Alex groaned. He was way off on his estimation time. Now he was screwed and he felt a headache coming on.

This just wasn't his day.

* * *

A/N: sorry this chapter is so short. I've got serious family problems and my computer is still freaking out from the hacker. Sorry for all of you wonderful people who like the story. I'll have more chapters up eventually. Also, sorry for any errors I may have made.


	3. Chapter 3

Disclaimer: I don't own Alex Rider and never will. Sorry; no sarcastic comment today.

This is going to be a really long chapter. That I guarantee. Well, for once, I'm gonna shut my mouth...or uh...my keyboard and get on with the story.

Sorry this chapter is so dark. It'll get more funny later.

Just to warn you, my knowledge of weight training and bench pressing is very limited. The closest thing to bench pressing I do is pick up my baby brother (he's about twenty-five pounds). So most of the vocabulary in that area, I got from my brother, so it's most likely wrong. So please don't get on my case about that.

* * *

Alex made his way through the halls, trying to get to the locker rooms as fast as possible. His head was pounding with a dull ache that seemed to be getting stronger with every minute that passed. He looked through the web of passing students, searching for Tom. He at least wanted to say good-bye to his best friend before Snake killed him. But as he got closer to the locker room door, he realized that Tom was either still in there, or long gone. He knew Tom would be going to the training camp; he'd made sure he was good at at least a little portion of self-defense and they were both in good shape from soccer (though Alex definitely had an advantage).

Alex walked through the door and decided that he should have ditched. K Unit was waiting in a decent looking four-person line looking very unamused. Even when they saw him, they stayed that way, though for once their eyes gave away that they were concerned about how Alex would go through the tests. They seemed to be decided on whether to let him go through with it in the first place.

Once all the students had entered the locker room, Fox stepped forward. He looked at all of them and began, "As you all heard, I'm in charge of the first test: Endurance. First we will be going out to the track so get changed and hurry up."

The boys, not wanting to get on Fox's bad side, immediately went to their lockers that contained their gym uniforms. Alex went to his and deliberately faced away from everyone, especially K Unit. He was determined to make sure that no one saw the bandages that covered his chest. He could feel K Unit's staring burning through him as he removed his shirt and replaced it with the gym shirt.

As soon as everyone had changed clothes, they went out to the track and waited as Fox and Wolf looked through a large packet. Alex glared as Fox read at a painfully slow pace. Couldn't he go any faster? He wanted to get his over with and there was no way he was going to sit for an hour while Fox read the damn packet. What was it for anyway?

Once Fox and Wolf finished reading the ridiculously thick packet, Fox closed it and announced. "For those of you who have asthma or other health problems, don't push yourselves too hard. I don't want any of you passing out because you're too stupid to know your limit." With this, they all lined up at the white line to start their laps. Fox stepped out of the way and shouted, "Begin!"

Alex started running at a steady pace, quickly moving in front of the others. He continued running, surprised that he wasn't in any pain. Unfortunately, his joy was short-lived. Just as he was starting his third lap, a sharp pain struck his chest. He half doubled over in pain, but continued running, and nearly falling over. Alex spared a glance at Fox and Wolf and let out a sigh of relief. They were too distracted by that packet to notice how much pain Alex was in.

He was really tempted to take Fox's advice and stop running, but he didn't want to seem suspicious. Sure, according to Wolf, he'd just had surgery not long ago, but Alex was in great shape for his age and it would be very odd to be in pain from a few laps around the track. So he continued running until he'd gone around the track 8 times, completing two miles, while the others were still on their third. He bit back a fit of laughter that threatened to burst out at how lazy they were.

As Alex finished his last lap, he made his way over to where Fox and Wolf were. Wolf glared at him and asked, "How many?"

Alex knew he was asking about how many laps he completed and said, "Eight."

Fox looked down at the packet and realized that he had no idea what Alex's name was. He'd only known him as 'Cub'. "Uh..."

"Alex Rider," Alex told him

The two soldiers looked slightly surprised, most likely because of the surgery Alex had gone through, but also possibly due to the rumors they'd most likely heard about him without knowing who this 'Alex Rider' really was. Despite their surprise, Fox recorded the number in the packet. _Hm,_ Alex thought. _So that's what it's for._ He turned around to look at his running classmates and noticed that they were already out of breath. They really were weak. After what Alex guessed was their fourth lap, they all fell out and stood around Fox and Wolf. They were all panting, trying to regain the breath that was lost during their run.

Wolf narrowed his eyes in irritation at how weak the students were. Fox just looked tired. He cleared his throat and shouted, "Alright, now for the second part of this 'exam'. As many push ups as possible. Then come to me with the number." Then thinking about the fact that he was dealing with teenagers added, "And don't make up a number. We're not stupid. We'll make you run five more laps. Got that?" The students murmured in agreement and went into the grass area to start their push-ups.

When Alex started his, he nearly fell at the pain and tension he felt in his left arm. Unfortunately, Wolf noticed this. He nudged Fox in the arm and motioned toward Alex and said something to him that Alex couldn't hear. Deciding to ignore them, he continued with his push-ups. The pain in his chest and arm were nearly unbearable, but he kept going anyway. There was no way he was going to let them see another sign of weakness from him. At push-up number 126, Alex made up his mind that he'd done enough and went to tell Fox his number. When he got there, he began to regret it, wishing that he'd just kept going.

"What's wrong with your arm?" Wolf asked him. Fox seemed just as suspicious and ticked off as Wolf did. That itself was an amazing feat.

Alex realized that he had tensed his left arm to deal with the pain - which also didn't work too well - and immediately relaxed it and said, "Nothing."

"Bull!" Fox snapped, surprising Wolf and Alex. Fox wasn't exactly known for his aggressiveness. "Wolf told me that your arm didn't support you at first."

Alex obviously didn't know how to react. He wasn't used to having to hide his injuries from soldiers; just school staff and students. Feeling that he was being watched made him realize that the other students were staring at him now as they did their push-ups.

"I told you, it's nothing!" Alex snapped. He hadn't expected to sound so defensive, but what else could he do? They pretty much had him cornered. "Can I go now?" he asked in the same tone. Fox and Wolf exchanged glances. Then Alex remembered that they still had one more part of this test to go through: The pull ups. Dammit.

Alex made his way over to the bars and sat down to wait. He was in so much pain, but didn't want anyone to know about what really happened to him. Not even Tom knew that he'd been shot. And he intended to keep it that way. Only five minutes later, everyone else came over to the bars and Alex stood up, being careful to put all of the pressure on his right arm. Everyone was still staring at him. Then Alex remembered that he'd _yelled at_ _soldiers._ So that was it. Oh well. They'd probably think that he was high or something. It wasn't like popularity was important to him.

"Okay, same as the push-ups. When you're done, give us the number and then immediately report to Eagle in the weight training room. Go!"

Everyone realized that there was just enough bar space combined for all of them to go at the same time and groaned. Alex began his right away and everyone forgot to start theirs because he was going so fast and not faltering. This was quickly altered when Fox and Wolf started yelling at them to get started. They quickly did as they were told and got to work. Alex was on number 52 when another shot of pain hit his chest. He yelped at the pain and instantly regretted doing so: he'd been just loud enough for Fox to hear him. He kept going until Fox pulled him down on number 66. Another shot of pain hit him as his arm was yanked from the bar.

"That's it! There _is _something wrong and you _are _going to tell me right now!" he growled. Suddenly Wolf appeared behind Fox and joined in with a glare of his own. When Alex tried to pull his wrist out of Fox's grasp, the soldier's grip tightened and pain started to spread not only from the top of his left arm, but now the bottom of his right.

"What's wrong with you?" Wolf asked him, still glaring. No hint of the concern from earlier that day was visible at this point.

"Nothing," Alex insisted. "Now do you mind?" he asked, throwing a glance towards the bars. He tried to walk off, but both Wolf and Fox grabbed each of his arms.

"Bull! Something's up, and you're going to tell us!" Fox snapped. Alex was taken back. He was used to Wolf's attitude, but not Fox's.

Alex had to hold back a look of guilt as he, Wolf, and Fox heard one of the kids mutter, "Ha! The druggie's in for it now!" He could feel Wolf's glare even though he was now looking in the other direction.

Fox turned his glare back on Alex and asked, "What is he talking about? Why did he call you that?"

Knowing Alex wasn't going to say anything, Wolf went over and yanked the other boy off the bar and asked him the same question.

"W-well, he's always m-missing school. And w-when he c-comes back h-he's always covered in bruises and l-looks nervous," the boy, Nathan Summers, stuttered. "What else are we supposed to think?"

Despite the position he was in, Alex rolled his eyes at Nathan's answer. He got the damn rumor from Sean, so it had become the default explanation for Alex's absences. Out of everyone in the school, only Tom knew what was really going on, which is why he stayed by Alex when everyone else shunned him.

Wolf let go of Nathan and told him to go back and start his pull-ups where he'd left off. Nathan scurried away, but did something that completely took Alex by surprise: he looked at him with sympathy. That was the first sympathetic look he'd gotten from someone other than Tom. To Alex, it was a sign; a sign that said things just might go back to normal. Well, at least at school.

Fox sighed and looked down at the shocked teen. "So that's what people think you do when you're gone. Why don't you do anything about it?"

Alex glared up at the soldier and snapped, "What am I _supposed_ to do about it? Do you really think I can tell them what I've really been up to?"

"Just let him go, Fox."

They both looked over at Wolf, who looked thoroughly pissed off. "The brats are just about done." When Alex was about to argue that he could do more, Wolf cut in again, "Shut up and go sit somewhere!"

Alex was now convinced that he'd be better off dead. That thought by itself was enough to scare him. _Oh, man..._ Alex thought, _I'm going suicidal. They've finally broken me. I'm gonna end up in a mental asylum, I'll be on crazy meds, I'll have to visit a shrink, Tom will avoid me, I'll be expelled, I'll end up on the streets, Jack will be sent away..._

"C...Cu...Cu....C...CUB!!!" Wolf shouted at Alex. Snapping out of his thoughts, he glared at Wolf.

"What?" he asked as calmly as he could, though the unspoken threat in his voice was clearly visible.

Fox smirked, "Hurry up, sleeping beauty."

Alex glared at him again, but then realized that everyone else was on their way to the weight training room. "Crap!" he bolted up and ran for the others.

Fox waited until he had entered the building before turning to Wolf. "I don't think he should go."

Wolf shook his head and replied, "There's nothing we can do about it. MI6 already decided that he's going."

"But he just got out of the hospital!" Fox argued. "Doesn't that count for anything?"

Wolf sighed at his friend's defensive statement. "The head of MI6 is screwed up in the head. You work for him, so you should know."

"Yeah, but..."

"Fox! Do you really think that someone as fucked up as Alan Blunt is going to give a rat's ass about someone else?" Wolf snapped. "Just give it up. There's nothing you can do about it."

"Wolf..."

"I've got to get going. I don't want Eagle to kill them all or drive them insane," Wolf said as he turned to leave. "Listen, we can't go easy on Cub. That'll just alienate him even more than he already is."

That being said, Wolf slowly started walking towards the building, trying to ignore the curses he heard Fox mutter.

~~--:--~~

Alex caught up with the others just as they were about to walk through the doors. When he got through the doors himself, what he saw did not excite him at all. Eagle was standing by the weight training equipment grinning like a madman. He hadn't forgotten about his random actions that morning. Staying on guard, Alex stayed hidden behind the other students, trying to look lazy.

"Alright, kiddies!" Eagle shouted, his voice echoing throughout the large room. "Let's get started!" The boys looked at each other nervously. Eagle was obviously insane compared to Fox and Wolf, so they didn't really know how to react.

Eagle instructed them to split into groups of two – there were not enough for every person to have their own. Everyone seemed to know who to pair up with, except for Alex. With his luck he'd be stuck with Eagle. Unfortunately, he had the luck of the devil, so Wolf chose that very moment to walk in. There was an odd number of students, so Alex was the one without a partner.

"Come here. I'll spot you," Wolf told him. Alex could tell that something was running through Wolf's mind. As he walked over to the weights Wolf was standing by, he got another sympathetic look from Nathan. He sent a glance to the other boy to acknowledge that he'd seen it.

"Okay, let's get started."

Thankfully, Eagle didn't decide to give a little speech to the 'kiddies', as he'd so maturely referred to them. The bench pressing was easy. He'd expected Eagle or Wolf to tell them to choose the weight they'd feel comfortable with, but they didn't do anything of the sort. The default weight was fifty pounds. Some of the kids looked worried at this, but Alex looked indifferent. Fifty pounds was nothing.

Despite how easy he'd thought it would be, Alex started to get a bit worried after doing four reps. His left arm started shaking and pounding with pain. Somehow he managed to keep it from showing on his face, but once he started faltering, Wolf felt it and completely lifted the bar away from Alex. Alex wasn't disappointed. He'd done ten reps, which was better than anybody else did. The stronger boys were doing about six on average.

"That's enough from you. Now go over to Eagle," Wolf said nonchalantly, putting the bar back in place and removing the weights.

Alex did as he was told, ignoring the suspicious glance Wolf threw at him as he walked away. Eagle was standing at the opposite end of the room laughing at the weaker boys struggle to do two. Alex rolled his eyes. Despite how scary he had acted at Brecon Beacons, Eagle was clearly the immature one. Alex stood next to him for a few minutes, clearly amused at how ignorant Eagle truly was.

After maybe three minutes, Eagle finally realized that Alex was standing next to him and showed his surprise by saying, "Oh, shit! When the hell did you get there, Cub?"

Alex smirked at the larger man and said, "Oh, about three minutes."

"Why didn't you say anything?" Eagle whined quietly.

"Why didn't you notice, oh-mighty-soldier-man?" Alex retorted, his smirk becoming a completely sarcastic grin.

"Brat."

"Idiot."

"Midget."

"Imbecile."

"Terror."

"Dimwit."

"Double-o-Nothing." Oh, yeah. _So _original. Alex decided he could have fun with this.

"Verrückter."

"Wait..."

"Narr."

"This isn't fair..."

"Cretin."

"Dammit, Cub!" Eagle quietly snapped, clearly irritated by the language switch. "I don't know what the hell you're saying!"

Alex wasn't listening. He was too busy laughing at how confused Eagle had gotten. While Eagle had been trying so hard to come up with clever names to call Alex, Alex had been thinking in completely different languages. Thankfully, everybody else in the room was too busy trying not to drop the weights on themselves.

"Alright, smartass. What do you want?" Eagle growled. Alex smirked. If he didn't know any better, he could have sworn that the older man had been pouting.

"I did ten," Alex told him, referring to the bench pressing.

Eagle just looked at him. "What?" Alex asked innocently. When in actuality, he knew exactly was Eagle was getting at by saying nothing: his name.

"Alex Rider," A voice from behind Alex sighed. _Dammit, Wolf._ Alex thought. _You just had to ruin all the fun._

"Thanks, Wolf!" Eagle smirked at Alex in triumph and recording the number next to Alex's name.

Wolf snorted in irritation. "I just couldn't handle someone from my unit being outsmarted by a kid."

Eagle made a sound of agreement, "Yeah, I...Hey! Wait a minute!" he whined. Alex started laughing, while the only outward sign of amusement Wolf showed was a small smirk that was just barely noticeable.

Not a moment later, the other boys were starting to finish up. They finished doing their sets and all went over to Eagle almost all at the same time. Eagle went back to scary-soldier mode and recorded the numbers as they were given.

Nobody payed any mind to Alex or Wolf. Deciding that he wouldn't get any more time to tease Eagle, Alex went over to a chair and sat down. He noticed Wolf glancing in his direction a few times, but tried to ignore the soldier and immersed himself in his own thoughts.

Recording the numbers took longer than Alex thought it would. This was mostly due to students momentarily forgetting the number of sets they did and the fact that Eagle had to search for the names (they weren't exactly going to him in alphabetical order). So for the next half hour, Alex sat quietly next to the door. It wasn't like he was excited to get a physical. When Eagle finished recording the numbers in his packet, he announced that they were finished.

"Alright! Everybody go into the gym and sit in alphabetical order. This will be the order in which Snake will call you into the locker room. When you are done with the physical, get dressed and you are free to leave," Eagle told them. The boys didn't care. As long as he didn't call them 'kiddies' again, he was safe. They all did as they were told and went out into the gym. Alex followed, noticing that Wolf did not.

Like he had after the previous test, Wolf waited for everyone to be gone before talking to Eagle.

"Did you notice?" Wolf asked the larger man.

"Yeah. What's up with him?"

"I don't know," Wolf answered honestly. "But I can tell you this: I highly doubt he was in the hospital for _appendicitis._"

"Then what was it?" Eagle glance at Wolf questioningly

Wolf shook his head. "Hopefully Snake will be able to tell us that. Until then, we'll have to be patient." Then, glancing at Eagle, added, "Try to control yourself."

"What's that supposed to mean!"

* * *

A/N: Thanks for reading. I had fun with this chapter. This will probably be the average length of each chapter. Sorry, but this took long enough. Like I said earlier, I have very limited knowledge of weight training, so don't kill me for it. I also edited my mistakes. I promise I won't wait three months to update! That wasn't on purpose, people!


	4. Chapter 4

Disclaimer: I own nothing! Well...I do own the plot and any original characters and names but _that's all!_

I know it's taking me a lot of time to update lately and I'm sorry. A lot of crap is going on in my life and it's starting to irritate me oh so very much!

* * *

Alex got into line with the rest of the boys. He was usually a master at escaping risky situations, but this time...not so much. I mean, how the hell was he supposed to outrun K Unit? The answer? He wasn't going to. He'd face it like a man...and maybe _try _to outrun them all.

The rest of the students were going on and on about how this was going to be a piece of cake, but Alex could still hear the whispers of those wondering about how he was going to fare with this little examination. Sure, he'd done good in all the other tests, but there was still the mystery of the bruises and other various injuries Alex had come to school with before. Alex knew he shouldn't let his worries show, but he couldn't help the nervous glances he shot towards the door.

After a few more minutes of nervous glances and eavesdropping on other conversations, Snake walked through the door and glanced at each student before speaking.

"Alright, this is how it's gonna work," he said, his Scottish accent very familiar to Alex. "One by one you'll all come in here and I'll check your cardiovascular and respiratory health. I have your medical files with me, so I already know of any injuries or operations you've recently gone through."

Alex gulped in air at that last sentence. He already knew? How the hell did he manage to get his file? Hell, Alex couldn't convince MI6 to let him see his own file! Snake broke through Alex's thoughts as he continued speaking.

"If you _have _undergone any operations or have scars of any kind from past operations, you do not have to show me. But if they will hinder your training in any way or compromise your health, you will not be going _period._ Now, will the first student follow me through this door." It wasn't a request, but a direct order.

Alex watched as a boy he didn't know walked into the other room with Snake. He sighed. This was going to take quite a while. He sat down on the ground, ignoring the strange looks the other boys gave him. Hey, at least they weren't nagging him about why he was really gone for so long. That seemed to be a favorite of theirs. They'd been told that Alex had been in the hospital, but they all knew it wasn't for appendicitis.

Eight minutes passed. The first boy who'd gone in to get checked came out. Alex's eyebrows rose slightly in surprise. Snake was quick with his work. The next boy went in obediently and Alex sighted again. This was going to take forever. He wasn't at the very back, but he wasn't anywhere near the front of the line. The boys started chatting again, each wondering what they'd be doing at Brecon Beacons. Alex snorted in disbelieve. Did they really think it was going to be all fun and games? They really must be as dumb as he thought they were. Well, Tom was excited, but he was a reasonable exception.

After a few more students had gone through the examination, Alex's chest started to pulse with a dull pain. There was nothing he could do really. His bag was in his locker in the locker rooms and his medication was in the bag. Damn. He tried to ignore it, but as he got closer to the front of the line, the dull pulse of pain grew to sharp shots of pain that shook his whole body. Jack had been right. He shouldn't have gone to school today.

After about thirty five more minutes, Alex was second to being next to go in. He was nervous, but thankfully, he'd been able to ignore the pain to where it didn't affect his movements much anymore. That was probably the second good thing that had happened that day, next to Mrs. Jones being embarrassed. Alex watched silently as the boy in front of him went in. He was scrawny and hadn't done well in any of the other tests. In fact, he'd done the worst. Come to think of it, maybe SAS training would help him a bit...if it didn't kill him first.

About six minutes later, the other boy came out, his face pale. Alex recognized him. His name was Andrew Quinn. He'd always been afraid of any physical examinations, which was probably because he was always teased about how scinny he was. Andrew was one of the few people that didn't completely hate Alex, so Alex immediately felt sorry for him. This caused even more harassment to go his way. Not only was he scrawny, he was almost hated as much as Alex was.

Alex took a deep breath and walked through the door. He walked through a small hallway to another door. When he entered the large room, the first things he saw was large medical equipment and, finally, Snake. The Scottish man looked up from the paper he was reading and smiled at Alex.

"Cub! I didn't expect to see you in here so soon!" he exclaimed. Alex just glowered at the man and stayed where he was.

"Not my choice," Alex replied with a shrug. He immediately regretted doing so as he felt the pain in his chest and arm flare up. He was determined not to let Snake know it, though.

Snake narrowed his eyes as he watched Alex almost-successfully hide a wince of pain. Deciding that he'd find out about it eventually, he let it slide. "Well, come here. We're going to start with your respiratory health. I just have to listen to your breathing."

Alex felt a little worried about this, since when he was shot his lung collapsed, but brushed it aside and let Snake check his breathing. The man pulled out a stethoscope and placed it under his shirt. Alex tensed slightly until he realized that his hand wasn't too close to his bandage (it's not like it's huge or anything). Though he was sure Snake had noticed his little change in posture, the man didn't give any indication of it. Alex took slow, deep breaths until Snake switched the stethoscope to the other side of his chest. He breathed like he had before and was relieved when Snake didn't make any serious comment about his breathing. Snake then moved the stethoscope to his back and Alex repeated his previous actions. After about twenty seconds of deep breathing, he took the stethoscope away, obviously satisfied to an extent.

"Well," Snake started, sitting down, "your breathing isn't very close to being perfect, but that could be due to your medication**(1). **Now. Go over to the tredmill and wait for a second." Alex did as he was told and obediently waited by the machine as Snake recorded his info from the respiratory test.

Snake stood up from being seated and stretched. Alex smirked a bit. He'd have to tease him about getting old at Brecon Beacons. But for now, Alex looked at the treadmill and grimaced. There were so many wires! Well, not really. It just _looked _like there were a lot. Thankfully, there was a manual on where to put the wires on the body. None of them were supposed to go on the chest or back. That was odd; these tests were supposed to monitor the heart rate, so why weren't any of the wires going on his chest? Alex, not really caring at this point, smiled. He wouldn't have to take off his shirt after all. He waited patiently until Snake got everything settled and joined Alex by the treadmill.

He smiled down at Alex, which surprised Alex a bit. If Snake ever got tired of the SAS, he would make a reasonably good doctor. "Now you're going to take what is called a stress test. Well, it's not exactly a _normal _stress test."

Alex just stood silently and waited for the man to continue.

"You see, normally we'd put some of those wires on your chest. But since you just got out of the hospital the other day, they should have already done the main cardiac examination to make sure there weren't any strange afteraffects from the operation," Snake explained. "And since I doubt you want me to see the scar, we're just going to put the wires on other places, like your wrists."

Alex's eyes narrowed. Snake sounded too tense when he talked about Alex just getting out of the hospital. He couldn't possibly know, but could he already be suspicious? And another thing. If he knew that the doctors had already done a cardiovascular examination on him, why did he feel compelled to do another, no matter how remedial?

Alex let it slide and let the medic attach the necessary wires and equipment. Then, after a little instruction from Snake, he got on the treadmill and started running at a brisk pace. Snake told him that since he'd had surgery not long ago, he was limited to five minutes on the treadmill. Alex didn't mind. It meant that he'd get to leave sooner. But this was still taking forever. How had they gone through the other students so quickly?

As he continued running, Alex felt the pressure in his chest and arm intensify. At the same time, he heard a rapid beeping coming from the machine that the wires were attached to. Alex mentally groaned. It was only two minutes into the test. If he was having this much pain after such a short period of time, there was no reason for him to go to Brecon Beacons.

Another minute passed. The pain in Alex's chest started making him loose focus, resulting in him losing his footing occasionally. Snake's easy-going smile immediately turned into a worried frown and he moved to slowly bring the treadmill to a stop. Alex glared at the man, but Snake just glared right back. Alex decided to let the man do what he wanted. He'd just blame in on not having his meds with him.

Once the machine stopped, Alex stepped off and let Snake remove the wires. "Why'd you stop it? I had another minute and a half," Alex asked him calmly, though he sounded a bit whiny, which was actually normal for a teenager. Just not in this situation.

"You know very well why!" Snake snapped. Alex took a slight step back. He sounded a bit like a pissed off Wolf at that moment.

"I was doing just fine," Alex lied smoothly.

Snake glared at the teen and growled, "No, you weren't. Your heartbeat was _way_ too fast and your as pale as a ghost! You're not well at all, Cub! You're not going to Brecon Beacons. Not while I'm alive!"

Alex was visibly surprised at Snakes outburst. He hadn't known someone other than Jack and Tom could be so concerned for him, but that didn't really matter at the moment. "I guess you should start planning you funeral then."

"Why is that?"

Alex groaned, "Who the hell do you think is _automatically_ going to the training camp no matter what? Did you really think it was one of those stuck-up idiots!?" Towards the end, Alex was nearly shouting.

"Why you?" Snake asked, trying to calm himself down a bit.

"Why do you think? MI6 is full of manipulative bastards and Alan Blunt is their dearest leader. He always gets what he wants, no matter what the cost may be," Alex told him with a matter-of-fact attitude that only a teen could have.

This only seemed to piss of the SAS medic even more. "You're telling me that MI6 is sending a student who just got his appendix removed to the SAS? Are they _that _stupid?"

"Obviously."

"They're insane!"

"No shit, Sherlock," was Alex's response to Snakes rage **(2)**.

Snake gave him an odd look and asked, "Where'd you learn that phrase?"

"Umm...My Guardian, Jack," Alex smirked. He'd heard her say it to Ian a few months before he died. Alex had been in a bad mood and had refused to talk. He was annoyed that Ian was going to be leaving them again. Ian had told Jack just that and she'd responded with 'No shit, Sherlock.' Ian had chuckled a bit before settling into a conversation to plan on how to get Alex to talk again. Just for that, he started acting even more difficult. Altogether, Alex didn't talk for four days.

"Geez. If that's the language you're being taught, I don't think I want to know what else you're learning at home."

"So...Can I go now?" Alex asked him, feeling strangely hopeful.

Snake smirked at him and said,"Nice try, but we're not done talking yet."

"It's been thirty minutes!"

"You'll be in here until you cooperate."

Alex glared at the man. Damn him. Damn K Unit. Damn the seargant. Damn MI6. It was really their fault that he had to go through all of this. Then a evil plan started to piece itself together in his mind. Oh, this would be _perfect!_ Even though he couldn't do it until the morning they left, which was two days from now, it would be worth the wait. The main result he hoped for would be to get out of everything MI6 was currently putting him through, but causing them problems would be just as good for the time being.

"What's with the evil smirk, Cub?"

Alex snapped out of his evil daze and innocently looked up at Snake and replied, "What is this 'evil grin' that you speak of?"

Snake rolled his eyes. He had been Alex's age maybe ten years ago, and still recognized the symptoms of 'revenge plotting'. He'd let Alex do what he wanted for now, but he'd get him eventually.

"Are we done yet?" Alex asked. Snake may have been mistaken, but he could have sworn that he had heard Cub whine the question.

"Fine," Snake sighed. "I'll at least try to make things a little easier for you while you're there. Maybe the seargant will let you cut back a little. It's not much, but I can at least _try_."

Alex blinked up at him, not unlike an owl and muttered a surprised and embarrassed, "Thanks."

Snake smiled at him again before Alex left, joining the rest of the remaining students. As soon as he walked out of the other room, he was met by curious stares. He ignored them the best he could. He looked at the clock the hung on the wall and noted that there was only about ten minutes of school left. Wow. Time really flies when you're plotting your revenge and arguing with an SAS soldier. Then he left the rest of the students behind and went to the locker room to change and take his medicine. He was still in a shocking about of pain and it was starting to make him nauseous.

When he got to the locker room, nobody else was in there. He went over to his locker and got dressed, being careful while pulling off his shirt and putting the uniform one on. Just before he started buttoning his shirt, Sean walked in with a group of his closest 'friends.' Alex rushed to get his shirt buttoned, which Sean noticed.

"Well if it isn't druggie!" he said with false glee.

Alex rolled his eyes and asked, "What the hell do you want?"

Sean acted hurt and said, "What? Has you're pill popping clouded your judgement bad enough to see that I'm on of the good guys?" His friends chuckled at this.

Alex just ignored him. He gathered his stuff, deciding to take his meds later, when Sean wasn't annoying the hell out of him.

"Oh, so you don't deny doing drugs? Is the act finally over?"

Alex turned his icy glare to Sean and his gang. "Believe whatever you want. Believing something doesn't make it true." He swung his bag over his good shoulder and went to walk around Sean.

"So how'd you get all those injuries?" Sean asked, blocking the exit.

"Is it really any of your business?"

"Yep."

"Wrong answer."

"Oh really?"

"Yep."

"And why is that, Rider?"

Alex simply smirked before grabbing Sean's wrist and quickly pinning it behind his back. Sean squealed in pain and wiggled, trying to get away. But Alex only tightened his grip. After a few seconds, Alex decided that he'd tortured Sean enough for one day and released him. Sean grunted, cradled his arm, and glared at Alex. The rest of his group stared at Alex, stunned. Alex walked around them and walked outside. No one tried to stop him.

The moment he stepped outside, the end of the day bell rang. So instead of going to his last class, Alex started walking home immediately, but was stopped when Jack pulled up next to him.

"There is no way you are walking home, Alex!" she snapped at him playfully. He smiled at her and got in the car. Once he was strapped in, they took off. Once they got home, Alex got out of the car and tried to go directly up to his room to study. But Jack had other ideas. She quickly grabbed the back of his shirt and gently dragged him into the kitchen.

He sat down at the table while Jack made them tea. "St. Dominics called. You forgot your medicine," she said with her back to him.

"I know. I got them."

"Really? How?"

"Mrs. Jones brought them in," Alex told her, smirking about what had happened _after _she walked into the classroom.

"That's...strange."

"Yeah," Alex said, lost in thought. "Did you know she went to Brookland?"

"No way!" she shouted, turning to look at him. An amused smile was forming on her lips.

"Yeah. When she walked into the classroom, she was verbally attacked by my teacher. She started talking about how Mrs. Jones was a rebel when she was my age," Alex told her. Jack burst out laughing until tears started pooring down her face.

Jack and Alex talked about that day's tests with K Unit. Jack didn't seem too happy about him going back to the SAS training camp, but she knew there was nothing she could do to stop it. After Alex decided that subject was out of the way, she started talking about her own day, which was strangely amusing as it consisted of burning food (no surprise there), an eccentric salesman showing up and trying to sell her toothbrushes, and the police showing up at their house instead of the house the real emergency was (three blocks away).

That was basically how they spent the rest of the day. After dinner, Alex went upstairs to take a shower and went to bed. He didn't have school the next day. He had an appointment with his doctor. He was asleep as soon as his head hit the pillow. And for the first time since he was shot, there were no nightmares.

* * *

A/N: Yes, I had to end this really quickly, for which I'm sorry. At least I updated! Well, here's the number explanations.

**1) **I have been on major pain meds before. It really affects your breathing sometimes, which really sucks. It doesn't happen to everyone, but I thought I'd stick it in there.

**2) **I couldn't resist putting this in there. This is my dad's main response to everything my mom says. They're divorced, but still friends and everything, but it's so fun to watch him tease her about everything.

Hope you liked the chapter. Don't worry. Snake will find out by the time the story's over, and it will be very amusing. I know there are some mistakes in here, but don't kill me for them. Like the timing of the tests. I've had a cardiac stress test and everything (which those things really are a pain in the ass!) and it can take a lot longer than that, and the wiring is not accurate. I had to tweak some things.

Another thing. I just found out that my friend shipped out to Afghanistan. He's 18 and I'm worried about him. So continue praying for everyone!


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